Monday, September 26, 2016

The retail space at 384 Court Street at the corner of Carroll Street has sat empty for the past two-and-a-half years, ever since Casa Rosa, an old fashioned Italian eatery, closed its doors after 34 years in Carroll Gardens.
Fortunately, the space will soon be home to a new neighborhood coffee shop and eatery named "East One Coffee Roasters."
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Morten Tjelum, one of the four partners in this new business. He was kind enough to provide PMFA with more information about their upcoming business and to include the amazing photo above showing of the current construction work on site.

Morten writes:After years of vacancy, the space at 384 Court Street (corner of Court and Carroll – previously Casa Rosa) has now found new occupants. Tom (US) of Italian descent and Morten (Danish) who are into the Nordic food craze and Scandinavian simplicity, have rented the space and are now in the process of preparing it for a full service restaurant (along Carroll Street) and an artisan coffee shop (facing Court Street). The team met years ago in London and operated a couple of coffee branded businesses there for a number of years.The name will be East One Coffee Roasters. E.1 being the post code prefix for the East London neighbourhood of Shoreditch which remains the stomping ground for coffee enthusiasts and independent artisan restaurants. The Shop and Restaurant will be very relaxed and unpretentious. It’ll be a place where locals can pop in for a coffee and a bite to eat, meet neighbours, have a chat, try out one (or some) of the craft beers and wine that will be offered or sit down in the restaurant and enjoy brunch, lunch or dinner.The restaurant will feature contemporary and eclectic offer of light American fare with a splash of antipodean and British cafe on offer – interesting foods based on seasonal availabilities. We intend to support the local Carroll Gardens Greenmarket and procure as much as possible from there. In acknowledgement of the heritage of Carroll Gardens, it is likely that the menu will offer the occasional red sauce and a couple of pasta dishes (Tom has a number of his Grand Mothers prized recipes). An artisan roaster will be on premise, roasting a number of single origin coffees and espresso blends for the enjoyment of customers throughout the day. Here we will be utilizing the latest technology in an old fashioned art to ensure the happiness of all of our neighbours and passersby that may not enjoy the amazing aroma of freshly roasting coffee on a daily basis (not us of course…we love it!) The Coffee Shop is being rebuild to easily accommodate a number of baby buggies – after all, the space is located across from the playground at Carroll Park. For the many canine members of the neighbourhood, there will certainly always be fresh water available and hook ups strategically placed so that staff and guest can keep an eye on the precious pooches outside. Morton adds: “We very much enjoy the neighborhood atmosphere in Carroll Gardens and intend to contribute to the local community in whichever way we can and look forward to be a positive addition to Carroll Gardens.”

It will be wonderful to see some life return to this storefront, which has stood vacant for too long. I have no doubt that East One Coffee Roasters will do very well, especially because of its proximity to Carroll Park.
Welcome to Carroll Gardens, Morten and Tom.

15 comments:

Any idea on what the hours of operation will be? I live across the street from the restaurant portion. Will the restaurant entrance be on Carroll St itself or will you enter both the restaurant and coffee shop portion from the Court st side?

I wish they would take off that portion that juts out form the building. It's always bothered me. In any event I don't have a stroller so I won't t be going. Also, I fear the neighbors will have a field day with a coffee roaster inside this space. And if they look half a block away and two blocks over there are other coffee places. And Stumptown rules the hood. That may be a good or bad thing. Sounds all good. Shorditch is a hipster area in London for sure. Carroll Gardens, not. How are the partners working here I always wonder? Business Visa's?And if they pay any attention to public opinion they'll not install a huge illuminated sign with E-1 blaring all day and night. Keep it small guys. Keep it small. Good luck.

I wish them luck & wish the neighborhood even more luck. Using the side entrance to what was once the (rarely used) party room as a regular entrance may be a bit much to handle for the neighbors.However, at least they were thoughtful and decided to place the Coffee Bar Entrance on the business-like Court Street side.I live across the street, as well, and can only hope that they keep decent hours: Like a restaurant, NOT like a Bar/Hang-out.

I'm glad both that something is finally happening at the Casa Rosa spot and that something is going to replace the hole left by Maybelle's. I was never a fan of Maybelle's but I did go there quite a bit. It will be nice to have a sit down coffee shop that serves pastries and light lunch/breakfast.

From the description above it sounds a lot like the kinds of large, independent coffee shops you find in college towns elsewhere in the country. And that's a welcome addition IMO.

as they say back in denmark, "new coffee in an old thermos is better than old coffee in a new thermos!!" i think we should wish them the best of luck, and hope there's room for folks with strollers as well as those folks without strollers. a place to sit and talk with a view of the park, that's not a bad thing at all...

and yes, i do agree that they should keep it small - but if there's a dane involved with the project, then they'll do just that. humble, self-deprecating people by nature, those danes. ; )

I am at the other end of the park and occasionally go to Smith Canteen which I like. I would go more often but it is routinely packed with a long line. If these guys do as good a job with the coffee I think they will do very well.

I am excited about the idea of an other coffee shop in the neighborhood. I was just bemoaning the closing of Fall Cafe, (now many years gone but the memory lives on in my heart). I welcome more places to sit and think. Or just sit.

Many moons ago when the Casa Rose space was Gloria Restaurant & Pizzeria, the restaurant entrance was on Court Street, and the pizzeria entrance was on Carroll. I went there often as a child when my father would get a takeout pizza for us, and I was fascinated by the wood-burning oven which was visible to the order window and dining area back there. There were never any problems using that side door when it was an active eatery. People would go inside, order takeout, or eat there at the tables. There was even a jukebox. No one complained, and Gloria was there for decades, certainly longer than any establishment that replaced it when the owner retired. I don't see why it should be a problem now.

We live on 4th Place and are very excited for a closer spot (right now Grocers and Milk Bar are the closest good coffee - you can walk further down to Pedlar, Konditori, Swallow, etc.)... Does anyone know what kind of coffee they will brew?

Another WAY overpriced establishment that is not needed. I'm sorry but $9 for a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich is highway robbery. There's plenty of places that you can go to and get coffee and breakfast without feeling like you were just robbed at gunpoint. This neighborhood is simply not meant for the average blue collar worker with a family to live in anymore...